Christmas 2010

This Christmas season finds us in the cold, snowy midwest. where December temperature averages have consistently been well below average and we've had some snow each day except three. But we are cozy in our house and the roads are always passable (midwest drivers are used to snow and enjoy mostly flat, straight, plowed roads).

As is our pattern, we spent two months in India in the spring and again in the fall, volunteering at Woodstock School. During the summer, we visited both our children's families, attended the Woodstock School North American reunion in Washington, DC, took a two-night getaway to Mackinac Island (a long-time dream of mine), and a long weekend in Las Vegas for me to celebrate with my three sisters; we are now all in our 60s. On our way to India in September, we spent a wonderful week in London with good friends Nina, Mahesh and Dhruv, who moved there from Bangalore in July.

We had our last visit to Neah Bay, WA, to visit Dirk and Tracy and family in January. In the summer they moved to Spokane, where Tracy commutes to work on the Spokane Indian Reservation. They are enjoying the amenities of city life after living so remotely for so long. Seth and Jasmine are at the local Community College and Maya is adjusting to a high school that is larger than the town she lived in before. We enjoyed visiting there in August and we're spending Christmas with them, this time traveling by Amtrak. (A different experience from Indian trains; some things better, some things not as good.)

Anjali and Domingos also moved this summer, to Virginia Beach, where Domingos is posted at the U.S. Naval School of Music. However, he spent most of the fall in an officer training course at Fort Lee near Richmond. Anjali has been building free-lance performing opportunities in the area as well as some substitute teaching in the schools.

While we are in Goshen, we live a pretty quiet life. I continue to attend a water aerobics class 5 days a week at 8:00 AM, enjoying both the exercise and the people I've gotten to know there. When the weather allows, I cook dinner for Dan's father (now 92) and friends Mary and Verna Oyer on Mondays. I visit my mother (89) in Indianapolis regularly. Dan exercises 7 days a week and enjoys racquetball. He broke a bone in his right hand in June, which cut out his racquetball and bicycling for most of the summer.

We were fortunate to see most of our extended families over Thanksgiving -- the Linds at our home on Thursday, and Lehmans in West Lafayette on Saturday. We have had many family members and friends stay in our home during the year and we are always happy to have them (and you!) here -- even when we are in India.

We are grateful for our wonderful families and friends and hope to see many of you in 2011.

Comfort and joy to you and yours,
Anne (and Dan)